Link to an image of this page [D5v]
Obdurandum adversus urgentia.
Stand firm against pressure
Nititur in pondus palma, & consurgit in arcum,
Quo magis & premitur, hoc mage tollit onus.[1]
Fert & odoratas bellaria dulcia glandes,[2]
Queis mensas inter primos habetur honos.
I puer, & reptans ramis has collige, mentis
Qui constantis erit, praemia digna feret.
The wood of the palm-tree counteracts a weight and rises up into an arch. The heavier the burden pressing it down, the more it lifts it up. The palm-tree also bears fragrant dates, sweet dainties much valued when served at table. Go, boy, edge your way along the branches and gather them. The man who shows a resolute spirit will receive an appropriate reward.
Link to an image of this page [D6r]
Sendurcir a ce qui resiste.
Le palme chasse sa voicture,
Et resiste au poix quil supporte:
Enfant donc de bone nature
Pense quel signe ce rapporte:
Pends toy aux rames & fruict quil porte:
Cest que soys constant a la letre,
Car qui plus charge & rompt sa porte,
En plus hault estat se voit estre.
1. The reaction of palm to a heavy weight is mentioned in various ancient sources, e.g. Pliny, Natural History 16.81.223; Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 3.6. See also Erasmus, Parabolae p.263. It probably refers to a plank of palm-wood, rather than a branch of the living tree. A similar image is used in La Perriere, Morosophie, no. 83 ([FLPb083]).
2. See Erasmus, Parabolae p.241: ‘the palm-tree, having bark with knife-sharp edges, is difficult to climb, but it bears delicious fruit’.
Related Emblems
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Iconclass Keywords
Relating to the image:
- bearing fruit [25G(+34)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- trees (with NAME) [25G3(PALM-TREE)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- hanging by the arms [31A2371] Search | Browse Iconclass
- arm raised upward - AA - both arms or hands (+ holding something) [31AA2511(+933)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- boy (child between toddler and youth) (+ nude human being) [31D11221(+89)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- adult man [31D14] Search | Browse Iconclass
- climbing up a tree (+ variant) [43B411(+0)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- picking fruit [47I4131] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Opposition, Counteraction, Resistance [54EE11] Search | Browse Iconclass
Relating to the text:
- adult man [31D14] Search | Browse Iconclass
- celebration meal, feast, banquet [41C5] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Constancy, Tenacity; 'Costanza', 'Tenacità' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [53A21(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Opposition, Counteraction, Resistance (+ emblematical representation of concept) [54EE11(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Reward, 'Praemium'; 'Premio', 'Remuneratione' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [55A12(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
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